Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF Position Reduced by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers trimmed its Raymond James Financial stake by 19.3% in Q4, selling 48,568 shares and now holding 202,884 shares (about $33.0M), making RJF its 16th-largest position.
• Insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares on March 19 for roughly $4.21M (avg $142.34), cutting her ownership by 35.5%; corporate insiders now own 0.58% of the company.
• Raymond James beat quarterly EPS estimates with $2.83 and reported revenue up 13.4% year-over-year, pays a $0.54 quarterly dividend (annual $2.16, yield 1.4%), and carries a market consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $173.25.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd cut its position in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 48,568 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial accounts for 1.9% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned about 0.10% of Raymond James Financial worth $32,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Raymond James Financial by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 15,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 4,592 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 137.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $363,000. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Raymond James Financial news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total transaction of $4,206,289.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at $7,627,431.24. This trade represents a 35.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:RJF opened at $159.64 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $149.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.31. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.82 and a 52 week high of $177.66. The company has a market capitalization of $31.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.07. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 13.04%.The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RJF has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up from $156.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $166.00 target price (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Raymond James Financial from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Raymond James Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $173.25.

About Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm's core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.

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